florida's state attorney just announced no charges will be filed against the star quarterback of the undefeated number one ranked florida state seminoles. jameis winston was accused of sexual assault stemming from an incident a year ago. now, he's the leading contender for this year's heisman trophy. a warrant just released today shows the rape allegation against him followed a night of drinking at a bar, all before he was the starting player, or even started playing for the team. he had been red shirted that year. a former classmate at florida state filed her sexual assault complaint on december 7th of 2012. she did not identify winston to police until a month later. in november winston finally provided a dna swab which reportedly matched dna from the scene of the alleged attack. winston's attorney says the sex was con sen chul. the accuser's family said last month that a tallahassee detective told her attorney that tallahassee is, quote, a big football town and her client's life could, quote, be made

miserable if she pursued a sexual assault case against winston. joining me now, the sports editor at the nation and former u.s. attorney for the southern district in florida, kendall coffee, and michael smerconish. kendall, let's start with you. you know the state of florida and the laws there and how these investigations work. this seems to boil down to a he said, she said here and an incredible length of time between when the attack happened and now. we're waiting to hear more on why charges will not be filed. legally, what were we looking at here? >> well, he said, she said cases where sexual assault is alleged do get prosecuted and often lead to convictions. what's different here was you had that start then stop then start again timeline. there was some inconsistencies in some of the accounts given by the alleged victim. so at the time the state attorney was looking at the case, it was, is this something where there's a significant likelihood of a conviction?

i think a lot of prosecutors would look at everything that we've seen in recent times and say this would have been a very tough case to get a conviction. he may have made the right decision. >> you refer to the timeline. let's see if we can put it up. december 7th, the alleged sexual assault was reported. this was december of last year. january 2013 the accuser identified winston to police. at the time, according to this warrant, kendall, she said that she tried to fight off the man and she only identified him as an african-american man that she'd gotten in a vehicle, in a cab with and then later identified him as winston. now, according to the timeline again, the state attorney began investigating november 13th of this year. this was after a number of media reports had been leaked indicating that winston was a suspect in this. november 14th, he provided a dna swab. i'm just getting this in, kendall. the state attorney, someone you are familiar with, said that

there was not enough evidence to secure an indictment here. >> and he's very tough. anyone who knows anything about him knows he wouldn't shy away from an aggressive prosecution. when you look at the timeline, there were indications that put the case on hold. that's inconsistent with somebody who's an alleged victim with something as serious as a rape allegation. there were inconsistencies in the police report and other elements of it. far from a strong case and one where i think even an aggressive prosecutor may have wisely decided to step back. >> dave, let me bring you in. of course, we don't have to say the obvious here. you will have people who say this is the star quarterback. he's heading out tonight for a big game. he's a contender for the heisman trophy. in fact, some of those who vote for the heisman trophy winner said that they were holding back on voting until the results of this investigation today. what's your take here, dave? >> well, first and foremost,

jameis winston is going to win the heisman trophy. he would have won the heisman trophy based on some of the early straw polling whether or not this had come forward. there's another aspect that needs to be talked about. tallahassee is a community of 187,000 people. when florida state plays well, that's $10 million for every home game that gets generated into the community. when the semiknnoles are playin well, it's the center of cultural life in the community, economic life, social life. one of the issues of this, no matter what happens, even if this has not gone forward, tallahassee, a lot of people need to look themselves in the mirror. this woman has been attacked mercilessly on social media since she came forward with charges. whether there was a rape or not, that is part of rape culture, creating an environment where women feel like they cannot go forward. that was part of the environment around this case. >> is that fair to put that on -- let me ask you that. listen, there are jerks on social media every day. you know and i know some of the things that people say.

is that fair to put that on tallahassee and on that community, or is it just that in a country with 300 million people, you can bet 30 million are complete -- i don't even of the to say what the word is for them. >> i'll grant you there you're going to have a crazed minority wherever you go. it's not a feature of tallahassee, but it is a feature of small-town college football life. you saw similar things with the notre dame scandal last year. you saw it in state college. you see a small group of people who are willing to defend anything if it defends king football. i think that's a culture we need to move away from. >> michael, let me bring you in again. this warrant was released just before the prosecutor said that there would be no charges here. in the allegation, the young woman said that she had a very broken memory of what happened after she and friends had left. she described getting in a cab with a, quote, nondescript black man and going into an apartment where she was raped.

at the time of the report, and this warrant says she was unsure of this person, she remembers very little but she remembers the person putting her clothes back on her and then driving her to some destination. she wasn't clear, according to this document, of where the incident happened. she could not remember that. so the prosecutor says that there's not enough evidence for anyone to be charged in this case. what do you think here, michael? >> i think that broken memory are not words that a prosecutor wants to hear when taking a look at a case like this, unless there's something in the toxicology report that suggests that her broken memory is attributable to someone having perhaps put something in her drink which seemingly was not the case here because toxicology didn't bear that out. i think like kendall, i focus on the delay. 11 months in terms of how long it took to get into the hands of prosecutors. in this case, people are going to see that two ways though. those who are critics of this

decision are going to say, see that, they were dragging tail all along. they didn't want to go after the football star. but a contrary view point would be one of the delay was attributable to her lack of cooperation. >> which she and her family deny, at least in one interview that i've read. they say they cooperated the entire time. and that reports otherwise are not true. >> that's correct. >> no doubt. they do say that. that's why i'm anxious to hear what the statement is from the prosecutor. >> absolutely. we're awaiting more information on this, but dave, also part of this -- and i want to explore this more on how this was handled from the university's standpoint. do you believe that they've handled this responsibly? not these anonymous random people who can say anything online, but the university itself. >> that's very important. florida state has had a series of allegations over the years, particularly dealing with sexual assault and the idea that players literally run rough shot

over the community during football season. now, what the team has done under new coach jimbo fisher is they've adopted a new policy to move away from allegations of favoritism. it says, if you're charged with something, you're off the team. that way allegations don't become this thing like, oh, you're playing favorites just because it's the quarterback. that's given them cover. that's been a smart move during this whole process because they've been able to say, hey, it's school policy. without charges, jameis winston playi ing playing. >> kendall, back to the prosecutor here. you know him, the state attorney. you say he's not a guy who pulls punches. he's not, in your exposure to him, the type of person who would give into a football culture that would pressure him not to charge a star player. >> i agree with that. he's prosecuted football players before. ironically, perhaps conversely, from a prosecutor's standpoint, if you could nail one of the most famous college quarterbacks

in america, that is a bigger trophy for a prosecutor than the heisman trophy might be for a football player. so the incentives to bring a case, if it's provable, are there. obviously, he thought the case could not yield a conviction. >> and michael, you're a parent and you've got teenage kids. you know, this is also beyond football. again, those conversations that i know i had with my parents and had colleges are trying to educate both young men and young women regarding drinking on campus, the perils that come. and this is not to blame any victim. let me be clear on that. but it is the conversation that's ongoing on college campuses and everywhere regarding safety and some of the things that played out according to this warrant here. >> it's interesting you bring that up because earlier this week a piece went viral written by a woman named roxanne jones.

she's one of the founding editors of "espn" the magazine. the whole gist of her story was to say to her college son, before you have sex on a college campus, you should get a yes via text to alleviate any controversy as to these sort of he said, she said situations where there's alcohol involved. i don't know if i'm going to go that far and tell my kids get a yes via text, but if foreplay is by text these days, it's not too far removed, is it? >> it's a legitimate conversation to have, especially given we've done these types of stories too often. and to your point, dave, in many cases, this turns out to be true, someone is charged and hopefully they are convicted if these allegations turn out to be true here. at this time, this prosecutor says there was not enough evidence to secure an indictment in this case. but thank you, gentlemen. i greatly appreciate all of you joining us. thank you. still ahead on "news nation" -- >> it's not right that we got to live in poverty from paycheck to

paycheck. >> they've been making high profits for a very long time and not spreading the wealth and sharing with their workers. >> one year after fast food workers started striking for higher wages, protests have now spread to 100 cities. we'll have the latest on the movement to raise the minimum wage. and going below zero. an arctic blast threatening 32 million people. now an ice storm is threatening major power outages. we'll have the very latest. plus, news just in. there's been some progress getting more than 40 stranded whales to safer waters off the coast of florida. one of the major issues is that whales are social creatures, reluctant to leave sick or dead members of their group behind. animal extert and tv host jack hanna will join us. you can join the conversation on twitter. i'm at @tamronhall. my team @newsnation. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global.

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fast food workers and labor organizers are turning out in full force today for what has become the largest effort yet in the push to raise the minimum wage. thousands of workers in more than 100 cities have walked off the job, pressing for higher wages and calling attention to the difficulties of living on $7.25 an hour, or $15,000 a year. >> i deserve more respect, more money. i can't make ends meet with my kids. i'm tired of living on poverty wage. >> it's not right we have to live in poverty from paycheck to paycheck. >> i know how hard they work. i know how hard they struggle. i see it in my own community. i think that we need to be here to support all workers. >> well, today's turnout and stunning demonstration of just how much their campaign has grown since november of last year when about 200 workers in

new york city launched the strike. "the new york times" called last year's protest the biggest wave of job actions in the history of america's fast food industry. now, while fast food workers have not been able to form their own union, other labor unions and worker advocacy groups have helped organize these protests. their movement is also getting a boost from democratic leaders, including president obama, who said he would support a senate measure to raise the federal minimum wage. the president reiterated that message in his speech yesterday with a line that drew the biggest applause. >> and we know that there are airport workers and fast food workers and nurse assistants and retail sales people who work their tails off and are still living at or barely above poverty. and that's why it's well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right now is below where it was when harry truman was in office. >> meanwhile, the national restaurant association, an

industry lobbying group, pushed back in a statement calling the rallies, quote, a coordinated pr campaign engineered by national labor groups. nbc's katy tur has more outside a restaurant in brooklyn where dozens of workers have gathered. >> reporter: tamron, the protest has made its way to brooklyn. there are about 100 or so workers outside this wendy's in brooklyn chanting just a moment ago "we can't survive on $7.25." they're also holding signs, asking for the right to unionize. they're saying $7.25 an hour isn't enough to support themselves or their family. they're asking for $15 an hour. these wiomen over the age of 28. they're saying often times they need to work two jobs, three jobs in order to support themselves. they can't even get full-time work in many of these industries because they're capped off at 35 hours a week.

now, fast food companies say any sort of raise just isn't going to happen. that $15 an hour especially is a nonstarter. they're saying if they raise the wage of their workers, it's going to get passed down to the consumer in the form of higher prices for food. there are no hard numbers on this, but it's estimated that the price of a burger could go anywhere from $3 to $3.50. now, that's really the heart of the question. is that that big of a deal? some economists say it's not because if you pay these workers more, they're going to need less in social services. so the country as a whole will be paying less into social services. obviously, the fast food companies don't agree. >> now let me bring in christine owens, executive director of the national employment law project and "washington post" financial reporter. thank you both for joining me. christine, let's start here with some of the findings from uc berkeley labor center. they released a report in november on fast food poverty wages, and it revealed the cost of benefit programs.

half, 52% of families on the front line of fast food workers are enrolled in one or more public programs compared to 25% of the work force as a whole. i know the restaurant industry says that prices would go up for the cost of a burger from $3 to maybe $3.60. in the end, if this many people are getting public benefits already, folks are paying for the fact they live on minimum wage. >> that's exactly right. it shows low wages cost all of us, whether we eat at fast food restaurants or not. we're basically subsidizing fast food employers' low wages they pay their employees. that's unfair to the workers and unfair to taxpayers as well. >> and in their statement of more of what the national restaurant association had to say beyond the price that people might pay, it says that dramatic increase in starting wage such as those called for in these rallies will challenge the job growth history, increase prices,

especially in the value segments, and lead to fewer jobs created. what numbers or what is substantiating the claim it would slow job growth and create fewer jobs? >> well, companies certainly say if something would eat into their profits, they would have to make up that cost elsewhere, possibly by raising prices for consumers. you know, the restaurant industry is definitely a huge sector. they account for about $660 billion in sales annually, employ about 13 million people. but the question here is not really whether or not they can afford to pay their workers more but where's the economic incentive for them to do so. part of the issue here is we still have 11 million people who are unemployed. so the pool of workers who are seeking out jobs, any type of jobs, is still quite high. that puts downward pressure on wages. and that's why these workers in many cases are seeking a legislative solution to this economic problem. >> part of the statement from mcdonald's reads that mcdonald's and our owner operators are committed to providing our

employees with opportunities to succeed. we offer advancement opportunities, competitive pay in benefits and invest in training and professional development that helps them learn practical and transferable business skills. some of the other fast food giants say the people who own the franchise are the folks who are setting this. there are those who dispute that. you know, the big companies do have say despite the fact they're individually owned restaurants. >> the industry is sort of arguing two opposite arguments here. on the one hand, they're saying that actually many of the workers are young or not intended to stay at their jobs full time, that this is the first step on a larger career ladder. on the other hand, they're saying that 90% of their employees who are in salaried or managerial positions, et cetera, started out at the very bottom. so it's unclear exactly which of those arguments holds the most water. but certainly it is true that

half of the workers who earned a minimum wage in 2012 were age 25 or younger. >> christine, you also know that the restaurant industry says these are unions who are pushing this. many of these workers, almost all of them, they're not members of an organized union. they've done this on their own in a sense. but we're looking at right now a movement where "the washington post" says 19 states and d.c. have a minimum wage higher than the federal government of $7.25 an hour. lawmakers in california, connecticut, new york, rhode island, new jersey have recently passed legislation to raise the minimum wage. what do you believe is behind -- i guess what we're seeing is the surprising show of force from these fast food workers who are not unionized, and it was just last year 200 people. now you're looking at 100 cities. >> that's right. and you know, i want to be clear. the right to organize is a right that workers have. and these are workers who are exercising that right. they're going into the streets

protesting low pay and bad working conditions and not enough hours even if their pay were better. so it doesn't matter what unions are involved or not. it's the workers themselves who are making this case. and i think they are giving real voice to the anxiety that most americans feel about the explosive income inequality we have in this country, about the growth of low-wage jobs, and the decline of wages generally. and these workers are giving a public voice and a public face to what millions and millions of americans are feeling at their kitchen tables every single night. that's why the minimum wage has gone up in a number of states. that's why there's strong support for a federal minimum wage increase. and that's why you see so many people in the public support the workers at the fast food stores, workers from walmart, workers in banks who are paid low wages, nurses aids, all work who are do valuable things for all of us and who can hardly support

themselves. the public is worried about, is this the kind of nation we're becoming, and that's not where we want to go. >> well, we'll continue to follow. there are more rallies and events planned today. obviously, this movement is far from over. thank you very much. i really appreciate you joining me. thank you, both. >> thank you. well, still ahead, house speaker john boehner's fight against the president's health care law. here's what he said just a short time ago. >> my health insurance premiums are going to double. my co-pays and deductibles triple under obama care. i'm thrilled to death, as you can tell. >> we'll have much more of what the speaker said today in our first read. >> plus, a stinging new report on the deaths of the 19 elite firefighters killed battling that massive wildfire back in june. a state agency now accused of putting the protection of property over safety. we'll have new details there.

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road and power crews from texas to ohio are mobilizing right now in anticipation of what's expected to be the worst ice storm to hit the u.s. in years. a storm that could knock out power for days for hundreds of thousands of people. drivers in the areas affected are being urged to stay off the road today and tonight due to the treacherous conditions. several highways have already been closed down. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is in ft. smith, arkansas. they're expected to be one of the states hit hardest. we know snow is certainly bad. i'll tell you, and you know this, you're the meteorologist, when you get this kind of -- these ice estimates, it's dangerous to drive, power outages, it can be pretty bad there. >> reporter: and it can be pretty bad because it looks like rain. you don't realize it's freezing rain until you see what it does to everything it touches. look at some of the bushes. i mean, even something as small as these little bushes are covered with the freezing rain. but if you extend that to a larger scale, the bigger trees, the power lines, that's where we're going to see our big

issues. and because this is a storm that affects areas from texas, eventually all the way up into illinois, indiana, and ohio, we have a dozen states that could end up with this icing situation affecting about 30 million people. and if the power goes out in the bigger cities, it could be one of those situations where it takes a long time to get the power restored because this ice is heavy. now, it's a slow process. at about 9:00 here this morning in ft. smith, arkansas, we saw the temperature drown to 32 degrees. it's like flipping a switch. it went from rain over to freezing rain, and all of the sudden the icicles start forming on everything. yesterday in this area, it was about 60-some degrees. the road surface itself is not frozen yet. however, the bridges and the overpasses and as this whole storm continues through the night and into tomorrow, the roads are only going to get more and more slick. so besides the power outages, we could end up seeing travel becoming a huge and dangerous concern.

tamron? >> and as i understand it, dylan, there's another storm out west. i mean, we're focusing heavily right now on the midwest as well as the east here, but california expecting some trouble as well. >> reporter: yes, actually yesterday california had wind turbines going just to prevent the frost from damaging all the crops out that way. but actually that next storm that's moving into the west coast, that's going to move into this area again by sunday. so even though we're looking at an ice storm today and tomorrow, we'll get a break on saturday, but then more ice is going to be a concern for sunday. and if the power is already out, it's only going to make things harder to clean up. >> all right, dylan. thank you so much. greatly appreciate you standing out there for us. and still ahead, animal expert jack hanna will join me live to talk about the dozens of stranded whales still off florida's coast. the reports say there's some progress being made, but there's still a lot of major concern now, including sharks. plus, when politics and

religion collide. >> i'm not ashamed to say that i believe in god and i believe until his word. this is my compass, my north star. >> the national republican senate committee criticizing arkansas's senator, democrat mark pryor, for that new ad campaign, but it's pryor's republican opponent who's coming to his defense. we'll talk about this ad with first read. vo: it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment.

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his word. the bible teaches us no one has all the answers, only god does. and neither political party is always right. this is my compass, my north star. it gives me comfort and guidance to do what's best for arkansas. >> well, the national republican senatorial committee immediately slammed the ad online, but now pryor's republican opponent tom cotton is coming to his defense. cotton's campaign spokesperson called the committee's criticism both bizarre and inappropriate. domenico, before we talk about the ad, let's talk about john boehner today. he made some comments regarding his health insurance premiums. let's play it. >> my health insurance premiums are going to double. my co-pays and deductibles triple under obama care. i'm thrilled to death, as you can tell. >> so domenico, we know everyone covered it when he finally signed up for health care without delay on the website.

that was before the fix. but what do we know regarding his premiums and what he said today. >> that's about the extent of it, tamron. we know earlier he had tried to sign up, and they made a little bit of a show of it where the site had frozen up. this is part of the republican effort to use individual stories. now the speaker is using himself to say that in some cases, for some people, their premiums are going to go up. conversely, we're seeing the president come at this from the other angle and talk about people with pre-existing conditions and people who do benefit from the law. you know, so we have these two sides going at each other, not necessarily talking about how bad the website is anymore, obviously. because he was able to get through. now they're back to sort of the older talking points that we'd been hearing in the lead-up to this. >> regarding numbers and more information, we didn't get that from the speaker today. >> right. well, i mean, i'm sure they would be happy to provide us some more detail on that. >> that would be interesting. when you say something is

tripled, the natural thing to ask is, well, what were you paying? anyway, i'll move on to mark pryor here. it's interesting that tom cotton took a stand in defense of his opponent. >> yeah, look, the fact is here it's interesting to hear cotton come out and defend pryor because the nrsc is pretty dug in on that line of attack saying, hey, you know, mark pryor had previously said that the bible is not a rulebook to legislating, which is pretty typical d.c., you know, finding a piece someone had said, using it against them, and now saying this guy wants to tout religion. tom cotton took that completely off the table and said, we're not going there, not going to get sucked into what maybe he saw as a trap. >> let's talk about the strategy for mark pryor. obviously, we know what part of the country he lives in and represents and why the ad certainly might be seen as a

wise strategy in his state. but it is an interesting one. >> well, some evangelicals are certainly an important block of voters there. the thing that it automatically reminded me of was the last arkansas candidate running for office who used religion in an ad. mike huckabee. if you remember back in 2007 or so, 2008, he used an ad that everyone went nuts about. it was christmas season of 2007. he had the floating cross in the background. because it was a book shelf, right. i was saying, why is everyone all worked up about some, you know, looking into a book shelf? he mentions how important jesus christ is in the ad. so, you know, we know that religion is important, especially for those who need religious voters in these primaries or, you know, in national elections as well. >> well, we know it's important, but we also know the other side. that is the concern that someone would legislate based on their

religion, which happens to not be the religion of the constituent in some cases. and that is the larger, i think what you were saying, the conversation is not the floating book shelf cross thing, it's a larger conversation. >> it's the content of how you legislate. >> absolutely. all right, domenico, thank you very much. greatly appreciate it. and a reminder, chris matthews has a one-on-one interview with president obama today. it's part of the "hardball" college tour live from american university. the full interview airs tonight at 7:00 eastern on "hardball." still ahead, well, he's back. he never left, but anyway, toronto mayor rob ford responds to new reports that he may have tried to buy the infamous video that allegedly shows him smoking crack. the offer, according to court documents, may have been $5,000 and a car. that according to drug dealers who allegedly have the video. it's all messed up. but first, animal expert jack hanna joins us to talk about the challenges facing

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geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. right now in florida, wildlife officials are making progress in the efforts to save a pod of stranded whales. a team of 15 vessels from several agencies are trying once again to herd the 41 pilot whales back into the gulf of mexico. right now two pods are significantly north of where they were yesterday and are now apparently in deeper water. but there are several challenges ahead. one major issue, the whales are known for sticking together. if one in their pod is sick or dead, they will not abandon it and will not leave it behind in most cases. also right now, sharks are feeding on some of the dead carcasses and could target the living whales. most of the whales are inside everglades national park, about 20 miles from their natural habitat. and joining me now, tv host and

wildlife advocate jack hanna. he's also the director at the columbus zoo and aquarium. jack, thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> let's talk about the effort here and the challenge in herding these whales, those that have not moved on to deeper water. what needs to happen here? >> well, the real problem is where it's happened. i've very rarely heard of this happening so far inland. they say it took several days for the whales to get there. who knows how long they were there before help started to arrive. usually when they're beeched on the beach, you can bring in people and cranes. but things don't look good. for those whales to get back out, even at high tide with the sand dunes and sand bar, imagine the animals who are weak trying to function to get out of there and they'll always follow that lead whale. plus, the ones that have died there. what you have is a problem that goes tenfold versus just being on a beach. >> are the pilot whales often

involved in mass strappndings? you've seen it all, it seems, and know so much. the rarity of what we're seeing, the location, the numbers. give us some perspective. >> it's not unusual. the numbers are very unusual to me this far inland. i've not heard that with this many whales. 40-something whales inland already. four or five passed away, some had to be euthanized. they seem to pick either a new moon or full moon when the tides are low. that's when they seem to do this. these whales are very bright. they know when the leader is up there. they know when their family is going. they don't want to leave their family, just like you wouldn't want to leave your family. that's what these animals are, a family animal. it's not unusual. to me, this number of whales this far inland is very unusual. i think the everglades now have a lot more water than they've ever had. maybe the water with high tide

is pushing them in. >> to your point, the any crop sis are taking place right now. they're also looking at the possibility that this was caused by a bacteria or some kind of infection, that it affected the pod. >> right. because you look behind me, we have manatee back here. they've lost more manatee in florida this year than any other year because of the red tide and that kind of thing. i think it's over 600 manatee. you see how fast a species of animal can go. i'm hoping ite ining it's not t. if it is bacteria, that could affect other animals. behind me are man ma tee that will go back out in the wild because of similar situations. >> some of the biologists said today is a pivotal day. as you pointed out, starvation, dehydration. if they don't get the remaining whales to move into deeper water, what are we looking at here? another day or two before the

worst? >> from what i've read and what i've seen on your network and other networks, if something doesn't happen in 48 hours, i'm not trying to be a pessimist, but you're going to have to do something something. you don't want those whales to sit there and suffer. that's me talking, of course. maybe euthanizing will have to continue. one thing you don't want to see is animals suffering. i wouldn't start that until we see these animals are not going out of here that, they're going to starve to death or sharks will get them. what would you do? the answer is pretty simple. >> and there's no way -- again, you're the guy, you know. there's no way to heard them out with these vessels other than what we're seeing? >> no, because -- you might be able to herd them out, plop them on a barge or something once they have no energy left in them. if you put that ammo back out in the ocean, that's not fair to the animal. you're putting that animal in the ocean where everything is out there. you're dealing with a tough situation. again, if it was on a beach

where boats could get to it, people, trucks, cranes, not just sea world but all those great organizations. how are you going to help something 20 miles inland? >> jack hanna, thank you so much. we greatly appreciate you joining us. i know you're very busy. we'd like to talk to you under better circumstances. you're the best. thank you. >> thank you very much. the death of an american teacher in libya tops our look at stories around the news nation today. local officials say unknown assailants shot and killed 33-year-old ronnie smith of texas today. the chemistry teacher was jo jogging in benghazi when he was killed. he taught at the government international school. in idaho, investigators are trying to figure out why a dump truck collided with a school bus today, killing an 11-year-old elementary schoolboy. four students and the driver also injured on the bus heading to school. state police say it's too early to determine what happened there.

and arizona officials find the state's forestry division in the deaths of 19 firefighters this past june. an investigation found officials put protection of property ahead of safety. all but one member of the granite mountain hot shots died when they became trapped by a wall of flames this summer. still ahead, former police commissioner bill bratton returning to new york. it's one of the things we thought you should know. and this is our gut check. would you be willing to pay more for fast food if it meant a raise for workers? and be sure to like the news nation on our facebook page at facebook.com/newsnation. [ paper rustles, outdoor sounds ]

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there's a new allegation today against toronto mayor rob ford, namely that he offered $5,000 and a car in exchange for the video that allegedly shows him smoking crack. well, the mayor strongly denied that this morning on a radio show he appeared on. >> number one, that's an outright lie. and number two, you can talk to my lawyers about it, but i'm here to talk football, guys. so if you want to talk football, talk football. if you want to talk about other things, unfortunately, i'm going to have let you go. >> the denial comes a day after new court documents show he may have tried to the buy the video that reportedly shows him smoking crack two months before news of the video first broke. course documents just released describe police wiretaps on which two gang members are heard discussing an alleged offer of $5,000 and a car in exchange for a now infamous video that allegedly shows the mayor smoking crack. toronto's police chief says

mayor ford isn't currently facing any charges and wasn't comme -- won't comment on the tape. the video hasn't been seen publicly or even by ford, who in an interview with matt last month seemed to doubt its existence. >> show me the video. even according to -- >> what does the video matter? >> because i want to see it. i can't even barely remember it. i was very, very inebriated. >> toronto city council has stripped ford of most of his powers after a string of embarrassing incidents, i colluding most recently this photo taken last sunday at a buffalo bills game with a group of men later identified as having ties to the hells angels. >> how am i supposed to know who's who? seriously? >> well, today "the toronto star" newspaper reports police documents also show a gang member may have threatened to blackmail mayor ford over the alleged drug video. meantime, during the radio interview today, he insisted once again he'll be re-elected next november. there's a lot going on today. here are some things we thought

you should know. former new york police commissioner bill bratton is returning to the post he held two decades ago. mayor elect bill de blasio says bratton knows how to keep new york safe and is the right man to reform the city's controversial stop and frisk policy. massachusetts senator elizabeth warren says she's not running for president in 2016. many believe warren could mount a progressive challenge to the expected democratic front runner hillary clinton. those are a couple things we thought you should know. now it's time for the gut check. we showed you the protests going on in more than 100 cities across the country. it's a campaign to raise the minimum federal wage, but the movement faces an uphill battle with a number of companies warning that they would have to raise prices if wages are hiked. according to "the new york times," industry experts suggest that prices could increase by as much as 60%. some reports say a $3, for example, would go up to $3.60.

so what does your gut tell you? would you be willing to pay more for fast food if it meant higher wages for workers? go to newsnation.msnbc.com to cast that vote. and that does it for this edition of "news nation." we'll see you tomorrow. "the cycle" is up next. if you're seeing spots before your eyes... it's time... for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® has an active naturals total soy formula that instantly brightens skin. and helps reduce the look of brown spots in just 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin. try it for a month. then go ahead and try to spot a spot. aveeno® positively radiant. naturally beautiful results.

of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which may be fatal. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®. it's covered by most health plans.

they're made of 88% active ingredients. and the competition clocks in at 13%. so with tide pods, you know what you get, and what you get is an amazing clean. so try tide pods. why? the proof is in the pop. you're in "the cycle." here are the stories america is talking about today. the slippery slope, a dangerous december storm has 32 million of us in its path. i'm abby huntsman. our views are on the road and manning the weather maps to bring you the very latest. the fast track, the fast food workers hop the counters and head to the picket lines demanding better wages. "the cycle" will take you straight to the streets. we're also going to talk about the counter argument to raising wages. the real guy. new details about paul walker off the big screen. turns out this guy had a really big heart, and that was no act.

>> gone to santa barbara for the weekend. i had just gotten back from iraq, wanted to get away from it all. next thing you know, i'm sitting next to paul walker. and the hackers. millions of facebook users, you are not going to like the news we have for you today. i'm krystal ball, and it is not just facebook. twitter, google, yahoo! you name it, are under attack. we'll give you a status update right now in "the cycle." it's 3:00 p.m. in new york, noon on the west coast. fast food workers are walking out in the height of the lunchtime rush. today workers are striking across the nation, more than 100 cities, demanding a higher federal minimum wage. currently these workers are paid $7.25 an hour. if you can find 40 hours a week to be considered full time, that's an annual income of only $15,000.